typeface
large
in
Small
Turn off the lights
Previous bookshelf directory Bookmark Next

Chapter 436 Time is not forgiving

Chapter 436 Time is not forgiving

Author: Playing with Basilisk

Chapter 436 Time is not forgiving

Is the man behind the scenes none other than Sun Quan?

Everyone was surprised for a moment.

With Sun Quan's performance today, he doesn't look like a messenger.

Lai Min asked: "Prime Minister, if Sun Quan is the mastermind, he does not dare to say that he misses Jiangdong, but why Zhang Zhao and the others?"

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "Indeed, it can be understood that Sun Quan did not contact the rebellion, because he did not even contact Zhang Zhao and the others. But this does not prove that he was plotting and did not dare to tell Zhang Zhao and the others?"

Everyone was even more confused now.

Fei Yi said: "Prime Minister, I don't understand very well."

Zhuge Liang explained: "Actually, looking at Sun Quan's performance today, we know that he is being cautious. You have to understand one thing. Unless you are extremely stupid, why would you make such a gesture if you really have no intention of returning to your homeland? Your Majesty,

Doesn’t Sun Quan understand the kindness of the prince?”

Yin Mo suddenly realized: "I understand, if Sun Quan doesn't have a rebellious heart, it would be better for him to openly admit that he misses his homeland, which would be normal. If he is secretive and pretends to be happy and does not miss Wu, it means that there is something wrong in his heart."

"good."

Zhuge Liang sighed: "His behavior today is too much."

This sentence means that Sun Quan's acting skills are too poor.

Logically speaking, Sun Quan is not a fool. He knew that this was a test. Even if he refused for the first time and said that he would rather not think about Wu, the truth would still make sense.

But the second time I put all the blame on Zhang Zhao, it seemed too stupid. It would be better to say that it was my own idea.

In the Han Dynasty, an era when local sentiment was relatively strong, it was not a sin for a person to miss his hometown.

Liu Bei is also a person who pays great attention to his teachers. Since Sun Quan has surrendered as a prince, he will not kill without reason without any excuse.

To kill Sun Quan just because he thought about his hometown would be a blow to Liu Bei's reputation for kindness.

So it is better to admit it openly. It is not a bad thing, but it will make people feel relieved.

But he just pretends to be crazy and acts stupid, which is quite intentional.

The main thing is that the characters are different.

Historically, Liu Chan was happy to miss Shu. Sima Zhao had no doubt that it was because Liu Chan's character was like that.

Since he ascended the throne, political affairs have been handled by Zhuge Liang and others for decades. Even after Zhuge Liang died of illness, several of Zhuge Liang's successors, the Four Prime Ministers of the Shu Han Dynasty, were in charge of state affairs.

As for him, he enjoys himself all day long in the rear and seldom gives any advice on state affairs, so he gives the impression that he is like a puppet who cannot be supported.

Because of this, no one would suspect him even if he behaved badly, acted like a fool at the banquet, and was too happy to miss Shu.

Where is Sun Quan?

His character is that of a young man who inherited his father's and brother's great achievements. He was quite a hero in his early days, and he personally led troops to fight many times, making him the overlord of one side.

What's more important is that his previous performance was not bad. Amid the internal and external troubles in Jiangdong, he defeated various rebels, quelled the Shanyue rebellion many times, and at the same time firmly held power in Jiangdong.

Such a character suddenly becomes so stupid, which will give people the feeling that he is deliberately pretending to be stupid.

And the more he does this unnecessary cover-up, it means he has a guilty conscience.

What would make him feel guilty?

Naturally, it was because Zhuge Liang had previously investigated that someone in Jiangdong was plotting a rebellion.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang believes that the initiator of this incident may be Cao Wei, who sent people to contact Sun Quan in order to start a rebellion in the rear and destabilize Liu Bei's foundation.

But the leader of the rebellion must be Sun Quan.

Only he was familiar with all the aristocratic families in Jiangdong, and also knew which aristocratic families were unwilling to submit to the Han Dynasty, so he could contact those people.

Judging from today's test, Zhuge Liang has also confirmed this. His cover-up was a bit too much and was exposed instead.

After hearing Zhuge Liang's analysis, Liu Chan quickly said: "Prime Minister, how should we deal with Sun Quan?"

"Worried in the belly, landslides turn into diseases, and disasters cause the walls to collapse and even control the country. Logically speaking, disasters like this should have been eliminated as soon as possible."

Zhuge Liang thought for a while and said: "But now that we have discovered it, let's wait and see what happens. When he causes trouble, we will have the right to remove him. This can be regarded as the last chance for Sun Quan."

"What does the Prime Minister mean to let Sun Quan continue to do it? Wait until he shows his flaws and then catch them all?"

Lai Min asked.

"Um."

Zhuge Liang nodded: "If he is smart, he should go back and think carefully and know what to do. If he chooses the wrong path, he can't blame us."

Everyone looked at each other and agreed.

Anyway, they didn't actually do anything to Sun Quan. If the prime minister's judgment was wrong, it didn't matter. If Sun Quan was really the mastermind behind the scenes, they would naturally set up a trap and wait for Sun Quan to get into it.

They have everything under control, so there is no need to worry.

While Liu Chan, Zhuge Liang and others were discussing this matter, Anle Hou Sun Quan also returned to his mansion in a carriage.

Liu Bei allowed Sun Quan to keep his servants and property, so the people in the mansion were all his original people.

However, Sun Quan was still afraid that someone would choose to betray him and become Liu Bei's eyes and ears, so every time he discussed important matters, he would use the excuse of admiring the scenery in the backyard to ask his servants to stay a little farther away and talk quietly with Fu Jun in the garden.

In this way, it won't be like plotting behind closed doors in a room, which will arouse suspicion, and it won't be too crowded to hear the conversation.

At this moment, Sun Quan was sitting cross-legged in the pavilion in the back garden. The nearest servant who was serving nearby was more than ten feet away. He said to Fu Jun in a low and serious voice: "Bo Liang, what happened to the matter that I asked you to contact?"

Fu Jun replied: "There are already more than ten families who are willing, and each family has sent hundreds of people. Now we can probably gather thousands of people. But there are no suitable generals yet, and no one is leading the army."

Sun Quan was silent for a moment and said: "I have my own choice to lead the army. Agu has always been loyal to me. He probably has not served Liu Bei now, but has returned to his hometown in Wu County. Send someone to contact him. He knows

How to do."

"yes."

Fu Jun nodded.

The Agu mentioned by Sun Quan is called Guli, and he is Sun Quan's assistant. He is close to the supervisor. Because of his loyalty, decisiveness, integrity and staunchness, Sun Quan likes him very much.

Now the generals of Soochow are dying and surrendering, and there are very few available, so the loyal Gu Li can only be allowed to lead the troops.

After Fu Jun agreed, he asked: "What happened when Liu Chan summoned the Marquis of Wu this time?"

Sun Quan stroked his beard and said: "During the dinner, Liu Chan asked me if I missed Wu. I said I am happy here, but I don't miss Wu. This is probably what a normal person should answer. Liu Chan didn't dare to do anything to me, he was just testing it.

.”

"That's good."

Fu Jun was relieved. This was a very clever answer. If he said he missed Wu, Liu Chan would definitely be suspicious of him. Therefore, even if he missed Wu in his heart, he did not say it out loud, just to protect himself.

"only."

Sun Quan hesitated slightly.

Fu Jun asked: "Just what?"

"It's just that Zhuge Liang didn't say a word during the dinner and often stared at Gu, which made Gu's hair stand on end."

Sun Quan sighed.

Liu Chan is easy to fool, but Zhuge Liang is not easy to mess with.

He was worried that his rhetoric would not deceive Zhuge Liang at all, and it would be terrible if Zhuge Liang found out any clues.

After hearing what Sun Quan said, Fu Jun quickly asked, and Sun Quan told him everything that happened at the banquet.

Now he didn't dare to go looking for Zhang Zhao and others. Firstly, the target was too big, and secondly, he was not sure about Zhang Zhao's attitude, so he could only discuss it with Fu Jun.

After learning about Sun Quan's encounter at the banquet, Fu Jun thought for a while and said: "Wuhou doesn't need to worry. If Zhuge Liang becomes suspicious, I'm afraid he has sent people to imprison Wuhou. There is no movement outside the house now, so it should be fine."

What's more, even so, Zhuge Liang has no evidence."

"Um."

Sun Quan nodded and said: "Liu Bei is full of benevolence and righteousness. In order to stop the mouth of Youyou in the world, he will not dare to kill Gu without any reason. As long as Gu does not make mistakes and makes them unable to grasp the handle, you should let Cao Pi do these things.

Let the people do it and show up as little as possible.”

"yes."

Fu Jun nodded.

In fact, up to now, when they contacted the old Jiangdong department, they did not come forward in person.

Shen Chen had many spy networks in the north, responsible for investigating the enemy's situation and spying on military affairs. Why didn't Cao Pi have a spy network in the south?

Therefore, what Sun Quan and Fu Jun did was just give Cao Pi's internal agents a list of people they could contact, and let Cao Pi's people contact those Jiangdong aristocratic families and old tribes in Jiangdong.

He himself did not come forward, and even the Jiangdong aristocratic families who were connected did not know that Sun Quan was behind this.

So Sun Quan was not worried that he would be exposed.

The only thing he was thinking about was, if things really developed in the direction he wanted, how could he escape from Xiangyang City, and how could he quickly gain power after returning to Jiangdong?

This is a big problem, and he must think carefully before he can come up with a comprehensive solution.





In the sixth year of Zhang Wu, the general situation in the world was turbulent. It was a crucial year for both Cao Wei and Ji Han.

At the end of last year, Liu Bei boldly launched the Northern Expedition. The war lasted for a year, and the momentum in the south was like a rainbow.

However, Cao Pi did not use all his strength at first. He adopted defensive tactics and wanted to rely on Chang'an, Henan, Huainan and other places to hold Liu Bei back.

Liu Bei sent out all his main force, provided food, grass, soldiers and horses for a long journey, and made a three-way northern expedition to fortify the cities in various places.

And he still has a large number of reserves in Luoyang, Hebei and other places, and the food and grass are replenished nearby, unlike Liu Bei who has to travel thousands of miles away.

So if he could hold on for a year or two and emptied out the money Liu Bei had saved during his three years of recuperation, he might have the opportunity to go south and drink from the Yangtze River.

It's a pity that his strategy and tactics are correct, but the execution capabilities of the two sides are different. Zhong Yao is indeed not weak, but he is far stronger than Shen Chen.

Under Shen Chen's fierce attack in Guanzhong on the western front, the city of Chang'an was destroyed, Zhong Yao was captured, Xiahou Mao was beheaded, and Cao Wei was forced to retreat to Hedong and Tongguan.

On the eastern front in Huainan, there was an unexpected factor that Cao Xiu did not trust Zhang Liao. As a result, Cao Xiu did not set up a defense line in the Pei Kingdom of Runan as planned, and led his troops southward, but was defeated by Guan Yu in the front.

Hefei had been besieged for a year. There was a lack of food and grass in the city, and the morale of Cao's army was low. Even Zhang Liao himself became so angry that he fell ill after learning that Cao Xiu went south because he did not trust him, which made the soldiers in the city even more uneasy.

The only good news is that with Cao Pi being forced to have no way out and all his last resort information revealed, Liu Bei's group's offensive can only go so far for the time being.

Shen Chen's attack on Chang'an was already the limit. If he wanted to continue to advance towards Tongguan and Bingzhou, he still needed sufficient preparations and could not do it overnight.

Huainan sent more troops to Cao Pi and moved Luoyang's garrison to the south, allowing Cao Xiu to stabilize his position.

In this way, at least in terms of the overall situation, although Cao Wei was slightly defeated due to the defeat on the western and eastern fronts, it still stabilized the situation and was not completely defeated.

However, with the protracted confrontation, Liu Bei's health deteriorated. Especially this winter, it snowed in Henan and the cold wind howled. He occasionally felt cold and even showed signs of vomiting blood.

In Dingling County, Liu Bei's coach's camp was filled with the aroma of medicine.

Liu Bei was lying on the hospital bed, coughing lightly.

Yang Yi, Jiang Wan, Dong He, Huang Quan, Zheng Du, Zhuge Jin, Lu Xun and other staff accompanied him with worried eyes.

Ma Liang was outside the tent at this time and asked the doctor who had just checked his pulse: "How are you doing, doctor?"

The doctor shook his head at him and said: "It's an old problem. Your Majesty is old and has reached the age of destiny, but he has been working on military affairs all day long. I'm afraid."

"well."

Ma Liang sighed.

His Majesty has not been in good health since the beginning of this year.

The Prime Minister and the Hussars General were also opposed to his request for the Northern Expedition, because they were afraid of something going wrong with His Majesty's health.

It's just that His Majesty insisted on conducting the expedition in person, so he had no choice but to do so.

As a result, his already poor health was exhausted from running military affairs and traveling around for a year, and he eventually fell ill.

Last night, His Majesty vomited blood and nearly fell into coma, causing everyone to be in confusion.

Now at such a critical moment, His Majesty is in ill health. How can we not make them feel uneasy?

Ma Liang returned to the tent, and Liu Bei was gradually waking up.

Seeing Ma Liang approaching the wooden collapse, he asked softly: "Ji Chang, what did the imperial doctor say?"

Ma Liang removed the sad expression on his face, put on a smile and said, "The imperial doctor said that your Majesty just had a cold occasionally, and it is not a serious illness. You only need to take a good rest and you will be cured."

"You don't need to lie to me, I know my body."

Liu Bei supported his sick body and leaned against the wooden collapse with the support of his attendants. He sighed: "I am already sixty-seven this year. I have reached the age of destiny. Even if I die, it is a common thing. But I can't die. , If I die, the great cause of the Northern Expedition will be revived and the cause of the Han Dynasty cough cough cough cough cough."

As he spoke, he started coughing violently again.

Ma Liang, Yang Yi, Jiang Wan, Dong He, Huang Quan, Zheng Du, Zhuge Jin, and Lu Xun immediately gathered around.

Jiang Wan advised: "Your Majesty, why not retreat and return to Nanyang first?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, your health is urgent."

"Although the Northern Expedition is important, how can we eliminate Cao Wei and unify the world without a healthy body?"

"Your Majesty should return to Xiangyang to recuperate his health first, and then make an expedition north to the Central Plains when his health is better."

Everyone tried to persuade him.

Liu Bei's temples were gray and his hair was already gray and brown. He couldn't hide the tired look on his face, and blood actually flowed from the corner of his mouth.

After finally calming down his cough, he said slowly: "I will never retreat."

"Your Majesty, even if you don't retreat, your Majesty should go back."

Ma Liang knelt down on one knee and kowtowed to Liu Bei angrily: "To be disrespectful, if Your Majesty worked too hard and the middle road collapsed during the Northern Expedition, and because of Your Majesty's affairs, all three armies would have to withdraw to the south, how could it be possible?

Wouldn’t it further delay the Northern Expedition?”

"What Ji Chang said is true, Your Majesty."

Yang Yi also knelt down on one knee and begged bitterly: "It would be better for your Majesty to sit in the rear and recuperate your body instead of letting the three deputy prime ministers lead the troops, rather than running around and working hard at the front."

"Your Majesty, please go back."

"Your Majesty, please go back."

"Your Majesty, please go back."

Many ministers also knelt down on one knee and petitioned Liu Bei.

It's not that they want to retreat, it's just that Liu Bei's body can no longer withstand the torture. If he can't go back to recuperate, he may not be able to last long.

When Liu Bei saw everyone's deep affection, he glanced at everyone with his turbid eyes, and finally sighed: "That's it. That's it."

After saying these words, his condition seemed to become more serious. He fell limply on the wooden floor, but he was a little less angry and a little more dead.

years.

After all, he will not show mercy to anyone.

I will go on a blind date out of town on Saturday and Sunday, and I will have one chapter a day until Monday, and I will try to update it when I get back.

(End of chapter)


This chapter has been completed!
Previous Bookshelf directory Bookmark Next